


The Weight of Expectations

by TheLadyVagabond



Series: These Little Conversations [2]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, DCU, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Bruce Wayne is a Good Dad, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Clark only cameos, Dick is just referenced, Father-Son Relationship, Sorry I made Thomas Wayne not a good parent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-17
Updated: 2019-11-17
Packaged: 2021-02-07 13:00:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21458452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLadyVagabond/pseuds/TheLadyVagabond
Summary: “Bruce.” Jason greeted, plopping into the chair next to his at the batcomputer.“Jason.” Came the automatic reply.Jason rolled his eyes. “Even Dick’s told you that’s not funny.”“I thought Dick wouldn’t know funny if it bit him in the ass?” Bruce said wryly.Another one-shot once Jason has been at the manor for a while.
Relationships: Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne
Series: These Little Conversations [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1546867
Comments: 11
Kudos: 308





	The Weight of Expectations

**Author's Note:**

> I accidentally created a series. This will make more sense if you read [**Clearing the Air**](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21371149) first. Also sorry I made Thomas Wayne an ass, not sure why, it's just what happened when I was writing. Any kudos and comments are appreciated more than I can say!

Jason was older now, he understood a lot more things than he did when he was a kid. He watched people - he was an excellent people watcher, and he got the conversations people weren’t having, the levels of a conversation that weren’t explicitly said. And he realized that Bruce was like - always super fucking weird about touch. Not just with kids that he understandably thought might have been molested, but like, Superman and Wonder Woman - or rather, Clark and Diana his best friends. Even Alfred and Ma and Pa Kent.

“Bruce.” Jason greeted, plopping into the chair next to his at the batcomputer.

“Jason.” Came the automatic reply.

Jason rolled his eyes. “Even Dick’s told you that’s not funny.”

“I thought Dick wouldn’t know funny if it bit him in the ass?” Bruce said wryly.

Jason grinned - he knew Bruce had been able to hear that fight. “I told him you never actually turn those comms off.”

Bruce didn’t answer him, continuing to type, but Jason could recognize the vague hint of a smile in the corner of the man’s mouth.

“So anyway. I was thinking.” Jason decided to continue. “You and I had that weird ass conversation about ya know, bad touches when I got here?” He was trying to go for casual but must have missed it by a mile with the way Bruce had suddenly completely turned away from the computer to look right at him.

“What happened?”

Jason blinked. His first reaction was to laugh - because it was just - so Bruce. The tone was carefully controlled but really, Bruce may as well have screamed “who the fuck do I have to go kill?” and that was just - Jason didn’t have a reaction to the fucking weirdly warm feeling of happiness that started in his chest but to laugh. It’s not that it was funny, hell it was the opposite of funny and it was shit that probably could happen - it happened to normal people with normal lives let alone ones dealing with psychopaths everyday. 

“No, Bruce, dude nothing happened.” Jason managed to tamp down on the laughter to an amused smile. “Not to me anyway.” He said quickly.

That didn’t seem to fully alleviate Bruce’s concern.

“I was just thinking - you know, with the way you are sometimes about touch - I guess I was just wondering if you were so careful about it because...something had happened to you?” Jason trailed off, the question becoming a fucking lot more awkward once he said it outloud. “I just mean, you know you seem real...careful about it. And you know, I just figured, I mean…Ok this was dumb.” Jason grunted uncomfortably.

“It’s not.” Bruce said, oddly gently. “But no, nothing happened to me.” 

Jason nodded awkwardly. “Ok, I guess I just...I don’t know.” He went to get up.

“My father,” Bruce said carefully and it froze Jason to the spot, “was not an...affectionate man.” It was as if he’d weighed each word carefully as he said it, and Jason abandoned any thought of leaving.

“You never…” Jason cleared his throat awkwardly. “You never talk about him.”

“No,” Bruce said seeming amused but his tone lacking the normal mirth it carried when being wry, “I suppose I don’t.”

And it was true, Jason knew all kinds of random facts and small memories of Martha Wayne - so many that he could sometimes imagine what she looked like, lovely and kind gliding through the manor like a kind of calming ghost whenever she was mentioned. But Thomas Wayne - Thomas Wayne was never spoken of. Jason didn’t know his favorite part of the house his favorite book or a story of him sledding in the backyard getting covered in mud.

“Did he uh,” Jason didn’t know how to ask, “you know, busted lips?”

Bruce seemed to consider Jason’s question. “No. Not the way you’re thinking. It was more...my father believed that everyone in this world...had a place.” 

Jason felt his skin crawl at the words.

“And he believed that affection - that love was something dependant on certain...conditions. He could be...capricious with determining those conditions. And very… blunt with his words when he felt he was putting someone in their place.” Bruce said carefully.

Jason turned over the words, running them through the “Bruce filter” he’d started to gain from his years living with the man. “So, he never raised his hand, but he’d say shit to make you feel like he had.” 

“Or say nothing.” Bruce inclined his head slightly. “Until you wished that he had.”

Jason grimaced because...because he thought of being little and reaching up for his mom’s hand - and what he would have done, if she had ever just turned away from it. Even at her most drugged up she’d always - she’d always reached back. Even Willis’ anger had been acknowledgement. And Jason remembered something Babs had said one time, after this street kid like freaked out at Dick when he’d try to help him up after getting beat up.  _ Touch starved _ Babs had explained to him, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“Sounds like he was a dick.” Jason bit out before he could think better of it, then winced when he saw the way Bruce’s shoulders tensed. He half expected Bruce to shut down their conversation in that clipped tone he always did when Jason blew right past a line in the sand. But instead there were a couple moments of silence.

“I don’t always succeed.” Bruce said finally. “Most of the time I don’t.” He amended seriously. “But he’s the kind of man I try not to be.”

Jason blinked. “You’re not.” He said bluntly, automatically, which seemed to surprise Bruce, which was - which was oddly irritating.

“Look don’t get me wrong, you’re a pain in the ass - and you get really bitchy sometimes,” Jason said heatedly, because come on, it’s not like Bruce actually thought he and Dick  _ meant _ everything they complained about with him, “but like - you were about to break someone’s face for me five seconds ago and last week you literally sat through 8 hours of Pretty Little Liars because Dick was high on painkillers and looked  _ sad _ .” Jason laughed at the memory, Dick had really been laying it on thick and Bruce had looked like he would rather have been fighting Killer Croc in the  _ sewers _ rather than be sitting there with his legally adult son watching an ABC Family drama - but he’d sat there. 

Bruce spent half of his time as Bruce Wayne fighting for like - better fucking doctors and food and shit for the lunatics who spent a large part of their time literally trying to  _ murder him _ \- because he thought their lives were just as important as the people he saved from them.

“I mean fuck that, you’re not perfect,” Jason said emphatically, because it was important to not feed into the man’s ego sometimes, “but you’re a good dad Bruce.” 

The moment the words came out of his mouth Jason snapped his mouth shut so hard he actually hurt his teeth. He looked forward at the readouts on the computer screen, refusing to glance over at the man.

“Jason -”

Thank God Clark chose that moment to show up in the cave.

“Uncle Clark!” Jason exclaimed cheerily, making the man look immediately suspicious - which, was fair. Jason never called him that, and he was never that happy to see him. Well not outwardly anyway, not everyone in this family needed to have a weird fanboy love of the man. “You’re here just in time - I think I gave Bruce an emotion and broke him. I’m going to Bab’s!” He tossed over his shoulder, and got the fuck out of there faster than even Wally could have.

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on [**My Tumblr**](https://thevagabondcave.tumblr.com/) for DC stuff, primarily the batfamily. I've started posting batfam headcanons and other musings there, asks and messaging is open, pop by and say hi!


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